Café
by RueRoyale
Summary: After FFX2, Good Ending. Tidus and Yuna enjoy themselves in the Luca Café and visit the Sphere Theatre. Ch. 2:Return to Guadosalam Farplane.
1. Cafe in Luca

Café in Luca

By RueRoyale

"Did you know about Vegnagun?" Yuna asked. Sitting in the café in Luca, turned so they could see the many different people walking in the round center plaza, they had talked about Shuin and Vegnagun and Zanarkand, Tidus's Zanarkand for a long time. Tidus had ordered shoopuf milk, just to see what it would taste like, and Yuna had her chocobo feather soft drink. After spitting the bile-like drink back into the glass, saliva ridden, Tidus opted for Yuna's beverage instead.

"Vegnagun?" Tidus asked, "I don't think so."

"Really?" Yuna asked.

"I think Dream Zanarkand doesn't like an idea such as Vegnagun, and the fayths just left it out." Tidus answered. "Besides, Vegnagun was a weapon of Bevelle. I don't think many people in Zanarkand even knew about it."

Yuna nodded. "Makes sense." She sipped her drink. "What about Lenne? Did you know Lenne?"

"Actually, I did know Lenne." Tidus perked up. "I heard her songs over the spherewaves. I never knew she had a lover."

Yuna looked out the wide windows. "the rest of the world didn't either," she replied. Yuna wondered if what Shuin did would now be recorded in Spira's history, as an important lesson, maybe, for those who would seek to try to understand what shaped their world. Perhaps other Sphere Hunters would discover even more pieces to the puzzle, and add to the ever-growing persona that Shuin had become in her mind. "He tried to save her. He didn't want to see her sacrifice her life for something she couldn't even win." Yuna bit off her words.

Tidus gently took her hand in his. He knew she was a strong girl now, with her own story to tell, but sometimes he forgot that she was just a girl still, and had seen more horrifying things than even he had. "Hey, it's ok." Tidus whispered. "It's all over now."

"He looked just like you," Yuna answered softly. "To the rest of the world he was a criminal, preventing the summoner from her duty, yet he was just tryingâ justâ trying" Tidus took hold of both her shoulders, forcing her to look at him, loosing her from her memory.

"Yuna." He said firmly. "It's all over now. Everything. And I mean it. Everything."

"I killed him," she said. "I killed him because I had to. I killed him because otherwise, my hope would end. My dreams would end." She looked up into Tidus's eyes. They were as blue as the Spiran water, as strong as the Spiran Hope. Shuin decided to destroy the world and in doing so end all violence, and at the same time end all hope for peace. It wasn't something a sane man would do, even for love. Tidus had loved Yuna, yet tried to restore hope, not destroy it forever.

"Yuna." Tidus breathed.

"It's ok," she said, a tiny smile adorning her features. "he's remembered. He's at peace, even now."

Tidus stared at the woman in his arms. She had grown more than he had ever imagined in the space of only two years. She had borne on her back the pain of two journeys. She had put up with so many people not giving her answers, so many people not understanding her, and yet she tries to understand all of them. He wondered if that was fair. "Come on," he said.

"What is it?" Yuna asked.

"I want to show you my memories," Tidus answered. "Let's get out of here. I want to go to the Sphere Theatre."

Hurriedly they paid and left, running, with their hands joined and their hearts free of guilt and burden, to the theatre, zipping past people in the streets. They arrived at the Sphere Theatre and Tidus said, "I bought these movie spheres here before, let's see if they still have them stored." He walked up the woman at the counter, dressed in yellow and dark green, and asked, "Do you still have spheres under the name, 'Tidus,'?"

The woman checked her light blue liquid crystal screen on the desk behind the counter. After pressing a few buttons on the screen, she looked up quizzically at Tidus.

"It seems you are not in this directory. How long ago was it since you last checked in?"

Glancing at Yuna, Tidus said, "two years."

"Two years!" the woman was shocked. Chuckling, she kneeled down and took out a dusty old metal box. Opening it, the box showed many cards arranged alphabetically. "A lot of things have changed in two years. We no longer use these old rolodexes, and urged all Theatre goers to move their spheres to this new automated system, but I guess it took a while for you to get the message." She looked through the T section, sheeting past card after card, and finally came to a heavily filled out card with the name Tidus. Pulling it out, she started typing onto the liquid crystal screen. "I'm just transferring your spheres into the index, so you'll be able to get them from here from now on, faster and easier than this old system."

When she was at last done, she looked up and smiled. Giving the card to Tidus, she remarked cheerily, "you can have this card back now sir. On it are all the spheres you are able to see or hear right now. Come back here if you ever want to add another one alright?"

"Sure." Tidus said. "Can I go in now?"

"Oh!" the teller smiled. "Of course."

Dragging Yuna by the hand into the Sphere Theatre, Tidus turned on his screen. After imputing his name, a list appeared of all his spheres. Taking a deep breath, he selected the first one and sat him and Yuna down.

Idling in the water, Tidus had his eyes closed. Whatever was going through his mind were only things he should have been thinking about, though he was not thinking.

_Blitzball, Zanarkand, Jecht. _

Electricity bolts zapped into power, connecting at the center of the hollow sphere that would become the blitzball arena. Water gathered from the air, materializing, held together by gravity and lightening, was shimmering pure blue, and Tidus stood up to face his fans. The crowds already in the stadium roared. Outside a last hoard of citizens rushed into the great Zanarkand blitzball stadium. The arena filled up with water as Tidus watched.

Far away from the island blitzball stadium, Auron looked over the thriving city as a tidal wave was gathering in the water.

"Sin!" Yuna gasped. Yuna swung her head to face Tidus, but Tidus had not moved.

The giant ball of water was unmistakable. Its gnarled surface, interrupted only by dark orbs on its head, and its humongous size gave it away. Auron faced it head on, taking a swig from his sake jug as he did so.

Still, the ignorant masses blissfully cheered away at the stadium. The Abes were facing the Duggles, and moreover it was the tenth year since Jecht had disappeared. Everyone was performing their best for this. Tidus knocked an opposing player into the stands, and the crowd screamed as he shot them an arrogant look before swimming away.

The gravity field dented at the onslaught of a blitzball, scored by the Abes. Teammates high fived each other as outside, panicked people ran from the unknown ball of water which was absorbing everything it came across.

The Abes were in the lead, and prepared to commit their ultimate shot. The ball shot upward, out of the watery arena as Duggles stared in wonder. Tidus went right after it, bursting out of the water like a phoenix from its ashes, up to meet that ball. Turning, upside down, preparing to shoot the ball as if it had come from a cannon, and Sin had started forming its own cannons of destruction. Fireballs erupted from Sin's head, tearing through everything in Zanarkand, toward the stadium, toward Tidus.

But that was only the beginning. The fire heralded the arrival of the water, even more destructive, breaking apart stone and blasting the tall buildings and domes of Zanarkand into the sky, and then crashing them down.

Tidus's blitzball must have fallen down there somewhere too, unkicked.

Tidus himself fell, and clung on to the metal side of the arena, yelling, surprised and afraid.

A fireball hit the stadium. The stands broke apart, and the arena's water fell out of it like a cup leaking badly. Screaming, Tidus tried to hold on to his ledge, but the ledge too now was falling, and losing grip, he fell into the chaos below.

The screen faded to black, and Tidus let loose a long sigh, closing his eyes, then opening them again. He'd seen this before. He's lived this before. But it was still hard to face the past sometimes, especially if he had a past like this. Turning, he immediately became alarmed, as Yuna could not turn from the screen, still riveted, with wet streaks down her face. The memory had only lasted 2 and a half minutes. And it could still be so painful.

Gently taking her by the shoulders, Tidus lifted Yuna, and grasped her hand, caressing it. "Hey, hey there," he said softly. He laid her head on his shoulder. "We're fine, really. Spira is still here, as alive as it was then." He nodded. "And I'm more alive now than I was ever!"

Yuna's hands came up to his waist. He heard her release her breath.

They stood there, among the seats, for a few more minutes, and then Yuna raised her head. Tidus felt sad at the loss of contact. His fingers were warm from Yuna's skin.

"You're right, of course," Yuna spoke. Her face was dry and clear.

"Isn't it the truth?" Tidus joked, then became serious. "it's nothing to get upset over. I have a dozen other spheres with so many more memories in them. If you want we can look at another one, not like this one."

"It's alright."

"You don't want to see?"

"I think I want to go shopping." Yuna smiled.

Tidus laughed, already moving. "Whatever the Lady Yuna wants!"

They wandered outside the Theatre, walking relaxedly. Tidus took the time to enjoy the color of the sky, and the calm of the sea. His and Yuna's boots sounded dully on the tiled marble of the Luca streets. Tidus found he liked it. It was really a welcome sound. All around him there were people, the people who supported taking a conservative approach to the Calm, and those who would be active and get rid of all the lies of Old Yevon. There were Al Bhed, Guado, Hypello, and Ronso, all joined together as Spirans, in harmony, working together. Tidus was glad he was brought back into this world. He was glad he could share it with Yuna. He was glad he could live in its reality.


	2. Guadosalam

Farplane Abyss by RueRoyale  
  
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Square Enix, from their wonderful games FFX and FFX-2.  
Warning: Heavy spoilers for both games.  
Synopsis: Return to the Farplane  
  
"Do you remember this place?"  
  
"Of course I do!" Tidus said. "How could I forget?"  
  
"Yes, of course you would remember." Yuna replied. She walked further into the circular stone that floated above red waterfalls and further below them, the Elysian-like fields that she had been to, filled with flowers, but barren of life. "I was here."  
  
"Well, yea! You and I came here on your pilgrimage."  
  
Yuna shook her head. "That's not what i mean."  
  
Tidus asked, oblivious, "What do you mean?" He took a step in front of her, looking at the rolling plumes of clouds.  
  
Yuna gazed past him, unanswering, and walked to the edge of the platform. Tidus, alarmed, rushed over.  
  
"Hey! What are you doing? Do you want to fall over?"  
  
She turned to him, eyes searching. "Do you really not remember being there?" Her arm was outstretched over the abyss, fingers pointed down.  
  
Tidus's eyebrows rised, came together in confusion. "What do you mean, Yuna?"  
  
Yuna let her arm fall to her side, and cast her eyes to the multicolored flowers. "I was down there." Upon hearing her lover's gasp of concern. "It was the final leg of my own journey. I came here, trying to find you." Yuna looked back at Tidus's face. "I never saw your image when I went to the Farplane before. And I was glad for that, in a way," she said, "but also it only reaffirmed that fact that you were gone, from even the Farplane. But when I fell down here, and I was so alone, you whistled."  
  
"What?" Tidus' eyes widened.  
  
Yuna continued, "You whistled, out of the darkness of the abyss." Yuna's eyes were bright. "And I followed you out of here." She paused. "I don't think you remember though."  
  
Tidus was silent. Despite the months that had passed since his return to Spira, he had still not truly understood what happened to him after the fayth stopped dreaming. He throught perhaps he was contained within the pyreflies, not as dead, but neither was he alive. From what Yuna had told him of her journey, he supposed he was a memory. But memories didn't act on their own. memories didn't lead people out of the Farplane.  
  
"It's true, I don't remember," he said finally. "But I don't think that matters. The fact is that I helped you, even when I wasn't really me." Tidus smiled. "I was preserved, through those two years, and that's the truth."  
  
Yuna nodded. "It's the truth!" 


End file.
